Bumping this because thought I left my incoherent ramblings on this release years ago....time to rectify that!! Love this album, its why FSM was so great, because who the hell would ever reelesee this insane album? It's, for me, what made JG so great....those oddball finds where every cue continually shares new findings as the years pass. And to give such a loving treatment to an obscurity like this....please come back and make records again LK & Co., you are missed.

You betcha, ill keep trying to help out Gauging ones likes is tricky sometimes, but fun. I have to try & remember not to "helpfully" rec things that are long long OOP & super expensive. :-/ Sound clip wise I'd go straight to the Fields of Ambrosia - Just gorgeous stuff. I wouldn't jump from the symphonic stuff to this, it's a real grab bag chamber work, almost schizophrenic, but genius shines throughout. I became fond of the chamber-drama work after my run of the big stuff tapped out. You get Patch if Blue yet or what, by the way? ;-)

Yeah this is one of the oddest, most interesting and also most challenging (for me) scores in Goldsmith's output...but I can't say I listen to it very often! I don't expect it to instantly become one of your favorite WA, but I could be wrong. The Fields of Ambrosia is a very lovely exception though. I imagine the rest works brilliantly in the film, and I'll be finding out eventually!

Now A Patch of Blue on the other hand might have a chance...lets hope someone reissues that sooner rather than later, as it's long OOP.

Yeah this is one of the oddest, most interesting and also most challenging (for me) scores in Goldsmith's output...but I can't say I listen to it very often! I don't expect it to instantly become one of your favorite WA, but I could be wrong. The Fields of Ambrosia is a very lovely exception though. I imagine the rest works brilliantly in the film, and I'll be finding out eventually!

Now A Patch of Blue on the other hand might have a chance...lets hope someone reissues that sooner rather than later, as it's long OOP.

Yavar

I like the challenging stuff! I remember reading (I think in Filmtracks, not sure) that some fans felt JG kind of gave up writing challenging music after a certain point (wish I could remember it word for word). That was very disappointing to read, since the soundtracks I first fell in love with by him were, in fact, musically really interesting and creative. And I'm betting that element is in Patch of Blue, even just by chronology. I hope to pick it up soon, but I'm still riding the high of both The Shadow and Illustrated Man coming in the mail.

What's truly bizarre (even to me) is that I still haven't grabbed Gathering of Eagles...Varese has a couple of other titles I wouldn't mind scooping either...

As I just wrote in the other thread, get Delerue's Joe vs. the Volcano when you place a Varese order for Gathering of Eagles. I'd also recommend Starship Troopers: The Deluxe Edition, if you feel like exploring more Poledouris. Massive sci-fi action score...I think you like those.

Supposedly Jerry "simplified" his style after being disheartened about how his complex score for Total Recall had to compete with sound effects in the mix. I'd say definitely his 90s scores are by and large more consistently accessible and he rarely did oddball things like he used to, but his music didn't get "dumbed down" like a lot of people act. Even in the last half decade of his career he wrote scores like The Mummy, Looney Tunes, and of course the incredible main title for The Sum of All Fears:

I just can't fathom the people who act like he lost the bulk of his talent. You'll be getting The Shadow in the mail shortly and that's from the mid-90s. Listen to it and tell me he wasn't writing circles around almost every other composer. Clearly he was directed to evoke Danny Elfman's Batman sound, but as much as I do love Elfman's Batman , the actual writing/development/orchestration in The Shadow leaves it in the dust. (I think Elfman really surpassed himself with the sequel, Batman Returns.)

As I just wrote in the other thread, get Delerue's Joe vs. the Volcano when you place a Varese order for Gathering of Eagles. I'd also recommend Starship Troopers: The Deluxe Edition, if you feel like exploring more Poledouris. Massive sci-fi action score...I think you like those.

Supposedly Jerry "simplified" his style after being disheartened about how his complex score for Total Recall had to compete with sound effects in the mix. I'd say definitely his 90s scores are by and large more consistently accessible and he rarely did oddball things like he used to, but his music didn't get "dumbed down" like a lot of people act. Even in the last half decade of his career he wrote scores like The Mummy, Looney Tunes, and of course the incredible main title for The Sum of All Fears:

I just can't fathom the people who act like he lost the bulk of his talent. You'll be getting The Shadow in the mail shortly and that's from the mid-90s. Listen to it and tell me he wasn't writing circles around almost every other composer. Clearly he was directed to evoke Danny Elfman's Batman sound, but as much as I do love Elfman's Batman , the actual writing/development/orchestration in The Shadow leaves it in the dust. (I think Elfman really surpassed himself with the sequel, Batman Returns.)

Yavar

That is a great main title for SOAF. When you tell me about JG being directed into someone else's turf, it reminds me of the STTMP/SW debacle. Yet I prefer STTMP over SW...quite a bit in fact (as you might recall, not much of a Star Wars gal, though I must admit I've been playing everything but the "hits" on Empire Strikes Back lately...and LIKING it!).

I wasn't that wild about the Batman/Elfman thing (movie or score)...though I will most certainly will give Returns a try.I actually really like what Zimmer and Newton-Howard did for DK..as rudimentary as Zimmer can be he made a good partner with James imo.

I seem to like Elfman best when he's channeling Bernard.

As far as what folks say about latter era JG...there are a whole lot of scores put out during that time, and I don't doubt at all they had their moments of challenge. In fact, I far prefer checking those last years out to some of the "Classic" 80s stuff like Hoosiers...he just seemed to integrate the synths way more successfully after 88 or so. All imo.

One last tip in, but I saw THE SHADOW is on the way? That is THE best expansion & the piddly original album is included in that set as proof. Moved a meh score into best of the 90s territory IMO. Very rewarding listen, the full SHADOW.

One last tip in, but I saw THE SHADOW is on the way? That is THE best expansion & the piddly original album is included in that set as proof. Moved a meh score into best of the 90s territory IMO. Very rewarding listen, the full SHADOW.

SUPER psyched now! I probably should check that movie out, as I'm an Alec Baldwin fan (bring back 30 Rock!).

Yeah, I almost want to suggest you listen to the original Shadow album first, WA, just because I'm curious if you'll be underwhelmed before you hear the incredible complete score. One of JG's most disappointingly short albums, and that's saying something. Left off the gorgeous love theme entirely, aside from a brief moment in the end credits. Almost as bad as leaving off Lancelot's theme completely from the original First Knight release!

When you tell me about JG being directed into someone else's turf, it reminds me of the STTMP/SW debacle. Yet I prefer STTMP over SW...quite a bit in fact (as you might recall, not much of a Star Wars gal, though I must admit I've been playing everything but the "hits" on Empire Strikes Back lately...and LIKING it!).

I'm glad. ESB is a great score. I too prefer TMP over SW, though I still like the latter despite all the temptrackitis.

I wasn't that wild about the Batman/Elfman thing (movie or score)...though I will most certainly will give Returns a try.I actually really like what Zimmer and Newton-Howard did for DK..as rudimentary as Zimmer can be he made a good partner with James imo.

Afraid we part ways on that one. I absolutely despise almost everything Zimmer did for Batman. I think Newton-Howard's contributions to the first two scores are by far the best thing about them, and I think the scores would have been much better if he'd been given free rein to do the entire thing on his own. I think Elfman really created a fantastic gothic sound for Batman, and he improved on his actual writing greatly in the sequel score, which also had a bunch of fantastic new themes.

I seem to like Elfman best when he's channeling Bernard.

LOL! Then you *really* need to give Batman another go...he was channelling Herrmann *most* in his early stuff.

I'd say that's pretty substantial channelling, wouldn't you?

As far as what folks say about latter era JG...there are a whole lot of scores put out during that time, and I don't doubt at all they had their moments of challenge. In fact, I far prefer checking those last years out to some of the "Classic" 80s stuff like Hoosiers...he just seemed to integrate the synths way more successfully after 88 or so. All imo.

I think the 80s were just a rougher period, synth-wise. (For everybody, really...haha.) Go back to the 70s and you have his brilliant synth incorporation in Damnation Alley (in fact I prefer it to Total Recall, personally). To say nothing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

I wasn't that wild about the Batman/Elfman thing (movie or score)...though I will most certainly will give Returns a try.I actually really like what Zimmer and Newton-Howard did for DK..as rudimentary as Zimmer can be he made a good partner with James imo.

I think Elfman really created a fantastic gothic sound for Batman, and he improved on his actual writing greatly in the sequel score, which also had a bunch of fantastic new themes.

I'm surprised you find this one challenging, Yavar. I find this one infectious, very much in keeping with many of his lighter western scores at the time (like "Stagecoach") but with southern gospel influences thrown in. It's not in my top ten Goldsmith, or even my top thirty, but to me it's quite charming.

But to each his own. Yesterday, I tried again to find much to like in "The 'Burbs" based on the comments here, and failed almost completely.

Yet another one of those scores I first experienced as the obligatory 90's Tsunami b00t, and was pleased to see FSM rescue and present properly. Haven't listened to it in a long while, so I need to rectify that soon. I'd also love to see the movie, which sounds crazy.